[Strawbale] Would you be willing to help me test new email list software?

[RT]

On Thu, 27 Feb 2014 16:52:55 -0500, John Glassford <jacksflat at gmail.com>  
wrote:


> You say NOT Facebook as it does not have any usable archiving.  Why do we
> need archiving for a discussion group?
>
> Does anyone read them.  They are now all out of date and only historical.


Perhaps it might be useful to mention that I used to use the nicknames  
"Wolfy" & "el Lupo" for
John and "WoofMan" for Sherwood.  I suppose then that one should be too  
surprised to see these two canids, and males at that, howling here.

Me ? Although I do have a Facebook account, I've never used it for  
anything other than logging in to post comments in reaction to a news  
story on the CBC or Globe & Mail etc websites so I know nothing about FB's  
user interface and would probably continue to avoid it if the SB Lists  
were to migrate to it, just like I avoid Twitter, Linked-in, Instagram  
etc. Life's too short as it is.

However, I am familiar and agree with the aphorism

       "Those who do not acknowledge History are doomed to repeat its  
mistakes"

so I do see some value in archiving capability (ie "historical" stuff).

I think that those who are new to SBC (or at least the wise ones) would  
take some time to check the archives, if only to familiarise themselves  
with the issues, many of which may not even have occurred to them as being  
relevant or important at the early stages of their explorations.

El Lupo suggests that in 2014, if one doesn't know something, all one has  
to do is ask and the answer will be provided instantaneously.

While I don't disagree with El Lupo's point, there is also the fact that  
many important questions simply will not be within the consciousness of  
someone who is new to the subject, no matter how brilliant they may be and  
that is where archived material will be of utility.

Further, another fact of reality is that not everything that one reads via  
the WWWeb (read: "via Google") is accurate so there is no assurance that  
the first instantaneous answers that a novice encounters are necessarily  
good answers.

Having the ability to scan through archives, following the evolution of  
discussions on a particular topic, provides one with the means to evaluate  
the quality of the feedback received and hence, make better decisions as  
to what constitutes good information.

Familiarity with archived material also helps one to avoid the  
"Re-inventing the wheel" syndrome, a disease that afflicts many in the  
early stages of their SB addiction.

I could go on and on and on about this but

Bottom line (IMO): Archival capacity = desirable.

Wuff! Wuff! AHROOO-oooo-ooo-OOOO !! y'all.

-- 
=== * ===
Rob Tom            ADT1
Kanata, Ontario, Canada